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The sliced vegan sweet potato pie in a white pie dish.
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Vegan Sweet Potato Pie

Vegan sweet potato pie - this vegan version of the classic American dessert is easy to make and indistinguishable from the original. It consists of a creamy, custardy spiced sweet potato filling with crisp pastry; you would never be able to guess that it is free from eggs, dairy AND coconut!
Course Dessert
Cuisine American
Keyword pie
Prep Time 40 minutes
Cook Time 2 hours
Servings 10 people
Author Domestic Gothess

Equipment

  • 23 cm/9 in pie dish

Ingredients

Pastry:

  • 60 g pecans or ground almonds or 50g plain flour
  • 200 g (1 + ⅔ cup) plain (all-purpose) flour
  • 50 g (⅓ cup) icing (powdered) sugar
  • ¼ teaspoon salt
  • 130 g (½ cup + 1 Tablespoon) vegan block butter cold and diced
  • 1 Tablespoon cold vodka or water

Filling:

  • 650-750 g sweet potatoes (2 large/3 medium) (unprepared weight)
  • 160 g (⅔ cup) firm silken tofu
  • 100 ml (⅓ cup + 4 teaspoons) unsweetened non-dairy milk (I use soy)
  • 80 g (6 ½ Tablespoons) caster or granulated sugar
  • 80 ml (⅓ cup) maple syrup
  • 75 g (⅓ cup) vegan block butter melted
  • 40 g (4 Tablespoons) cornflour (cornstarch)
  • 1½ teaspoons ground cinnamon
  • ½ teaspoon ground ginger
  • ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
  • 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
  • ¼ teaspoon salt

Instructions

  • If you are using pecans in the pastry, place them in a food processor and pulse until very finely chopped, be careful not to go too far or you will end up with nut butter. Skip this step if you are using ground almonds or extra flour.
  • Add the flour, icing sugar and salt (and ground almonds if not using pecans) and pulse to combine then add the cold, cubed butter and blitz until no large lumps of better remain. If you are not using pecans you can rub the butter into the dry ingredients by hand if you don't have a food processor.
  • Add the cold vodka or water and mix until the pastry clumps together. You may or may not need to add a drop more water. Shape the pastry into a disc, wrap and refrigerate for at least an hour until firm enough to roll out.
  • While the pastry is chilling, prepare the sweet potatoes. Heat the oven to 200℃/180℃ fan/400℉/gas mark 6.
  • Pierce each sweet potato several times with a knife. Place on a baking sheet and bake for about 1 hour, until the potatoes are tender all the way through when pierced with a knife. Remove from the oven and let cool enough to handle.
  • Turn the oven down to 180℃/160℃ fan/350℉/gas mark 4.
  • Roll the pastry out between two sheets of baking paper or on a floured surface until big enough to line a 23 cm/9 in round pie dish. Carefully transfer the pastry to the dish and press it into the corners. Crimp and trim the edges of the pastry and prick the base all over with a fork then place it in the freezer for 20 minutes until solid.
  • Line the chilled pastry case with baking parchment, pressing it right into the corners, then fill with baking beans or dried rice, making sure that the sides are propped up.
  • Bake for 20 minutes then remove the tin foil and baking beans and return the tart shell to the oven for a further 5-10 minutes until just browned.
  • Meanwhile, peel the baked sweet potatoes and weigh out 450g of flesh. Place the sweet potato flesh in a blender along with the silken tofu, milk, sugar, maple syrup, melted butter, cornstarch, spices, vanilla extract and salt and blend until smooth.
  • Pour the filling into the pastry case. Cover the exposed edges of the pastry with strips of folded tin foil so that it doesn't catch in the oven (image in blog post).
  • Bake the pie for 35-45 minutes until the filling is set but still has a slight jiggle in the centre.
  • Leave to cool to room temperature before refrigerating.

Notes

  • See post above for tips, details and step-by-step photos.
  • All of my recipes are developed using grams, and as with all of my baking recipes I really do recommend using the metric measurements with a digital scale rather than the cup coversions. Cups are a wildly inaccurate measuring system and you will get far better, more consistent results using a scale, not to mention that it is also easier and less messy than cups!
  • You may find after chilling that the pie has some condensation on the surface, simply blot it with a paper towel to remove it before serving.